IVF prices spur confusion
And more of the week's best financial insight
Here are three of the week's top pieces of financial insight, gathered from around the web:
IVF prices spur confusion
The out-of-pocket costs for assisted reproductive technology can add up, said Julia Rothman and Shaina Feinberg at The New York Times. Speaking with five families about what they paid to have a child, costs varied widely for every part of the process. One couple at the low end paid $10,000 for the IVF procedure and $3,000 for medicine. Another couple, who did it several times, spent $3,800 on an initial consultation, $7,100 on medicine, and $10,500 on the medical procedure. In many cases, IVF takes several tries, and couples can spend many thousands without a successful outcome. One woman who succeeded in getting pregnant in seven months found out only after she had twins that the cost of the procedure would be a stunning $36,000. "The whole time I was thinking that my insurance was covering it," she says, "because the clinic had looked it up and said, 'You're good to go.'"
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Vanguard's private equity push
Low-cost money-manager Vanguard is launching a private equity fund, said Dawn Lim at The Wall Street Journal. Private equity funds charge investors an annual fee as high as 2 percent of assets and a 20 percent share of profits, so the move is striking for a firm that "built a brand on the back of low-cost funds for everyday investors." In recent years, however, Vanguard has attracted $1.6 trillion in money from endowments, foundations, and other institutions. Initially, Vanguard's private equity offerings will be open only to these institutions, but Vanguard "sees an opening" for the strategy to include the investments in individual portfolios.
The car-buying concierge
Some car dealers are bravely getting rid of a central part of the car-buying process, said Phoebe Wall Howard at the Detroit Free Press: the dealership. Brian Carroll was fired unexpectedly from his sales position at a dealership in Macomb, Michigan. "Then a guy called wanting a car." When "the buyer said he didn't care" that Carroll no longer worked at a dealership, Carroll decided he would go solo as an independent "car concierge," working with clients to find exactly the car they want. He taps a network of dealers to "find the best price and offer options," then drives the new car to wherever clients need it, asking only to be paid a commission on the sale. Carroll says that he's now selling 30 to 35 cars a month, doing better than he did at his old job.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
This article was first published in the latest issue of The Week magazine. If you want to read more like it, try the magazine for a month here.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
-
Long Covid: study shows damage to brain's 'control centre'
The Explainer Research could help scientists understand long-term effects of Covid-19 as well as conditions such as MS and dementia
By The Week UK Published
-
Rivals: the Jilly Cooper 'bonkbuster' TV hit that everyone's talking about
In the spotlight 1980s novel hits the small screen, bringing wet dogs, big hair and lots of 'rumpy pumpy'
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Top saunas around the UK
The Week Recommends Finnish-style saunas are popping up everywhere, promising a slew of potential health benefits
By Irenie Forshaw, The Week UK Published